Scholastic is a television channel that focuses on content in the digital economy. It produces media that is educational in nature and targeted toward younger audiences. It is based in Kansas City, Kansas and has over 200 employees nationwide. It originally only produced shows for the local Kansas City market but when it signed a deal with Turner Broadcasting it spread its efforts over multiple regions throughout the United States. Now, it caters to viewers in an international context and its content is accessible online for a nominal fee.
Scholastic was started in 1987 by Tom Hunt when he found out that is children were not learning at the rate he desired in school. He realized that there had to be a better way to let the children entertain themselves when watching television. He thought of including educational programming alongside cartoons and other shows to encourage children to associate learning with positive emotions. He was bought out by Turner in 2004 and now the company focuses on producing licensed and original content in over 12 languages.
Titles on the channel currently include Marissa's Schoolbus, The Teacher's Pet, and Romero is in Town. Marissa's Schoolbus, for instance, is a show geared toward children between the age of 5 and 9. It features young heroes who go on adventures and often learn new techniques from their teacher about how to survive in the world and record their findings. The show began in 2009 and has signed a contract to extend into 2016.